1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rail-mounted aggregate valve, in which a plurality of selector valves are aggregated and mounted on a rail.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, an aggregate valve has been known, in which a plurality of selector valves having common passages for supply and discharge are aggregated on a valve body by mutually connecting and integrating in order to collectively supply and discharge pressure fluid to said plurality of selector valves via the common passages, whereby the pressure fluid is supplied to or discharged from each of the selector valves via the common passages, which are communicated with each other as a result of the aggregation.
In general, these selector valves are aggregated by mounting on a groove-shaped rail member and are installed on a control panel or on a fluid pressure equipment via the rail member.
In the conventional method to mount the selector valves on the rail member, engaging sectors such as pawls or components in similar shape are provided on a part of the bottom surface of the valve body in the selector valve, and the engaging sectors are engaged with flange-shaped engaging edges at upper ends of groove walls of the rail member, or the valve body is fixed on the rail member using pins, screws, etc.
However, the former method is disadvantageous in that the engaging sectors with special shape have to be provided on the valve body of the selector valve, which is already complicated enough in structure because a plurality of fluid passages and valve holes are arranged, and this leads to troublesome fabrication processes and higher cost. In particular, punching holes, fabrication holes, etc. for forming through-holes connecting the fluid passage and the valve holes are provided on the bottom surface of the valve body in the aggregated type selector valves, and a bottom cover is mounted to block these holes. As a result, the bottom cover should not become a hindrance when the valves are mounted on the rail, and the formation of the engaging sectors are also limited by the presence of the bottom cover.
On the other hand, the latter method is disadvantageous in that a plurality of selector valves must be fixed using pins, screws, etc., and this requires complicated fixing procedure.